Not ones to do things by halves, we started off our 50 Things challenge with something big.
Really big.
Huge, in fact.
We had a whole day with nothing planned and son was keen to tick the first thing off his 50 Things list, so we packed a picnic and headed for the hills. Well, one hill in particular; Roseberry Topping. Situated on the northern edge of the North York Moors National Park, its distinctive peak is visible from miles around and is instantly recognisable. Standing at 320m high, it is not the biggest hill in the area, but it is quite a steep and challenging climb, especially for a four year old.
Although it doesn’t look it, it was a really warm day and son fell asleep in the car on the drive over. I hoped this would give him a little energy boost to tackle the climb as he is usually quite quick to complain he is tired when out walking. We arrived around lunchtime and, after a quick snack, set off along the track leading to the hill.
Through the gate at the end of the track, there are several different paths you can take. As son was leader of the expedition, he chose the wooden steps and led the way.
The steps became quite steep in places and son needed a little help to get up some of the higher ones, but he was happy to keep climbing. After the wooden steps, we followed a stone path. This was much easier on the thighs! About half an hour after starting the walk, we found a bench and sat down for a drink. Son was surprised at how high we were as we had been too busy watching where to put our feet to take in the view.
This is where the climb started to get a bit more difficult. The path became steeper and more uneven with larger stones and we were, at times, scrambling on all fours. After another twenty minutes or so, we came to a small, flat area of grass to sit and rest. Son said his legs were ‘a bit achy but they’ll be ok in five minutes’, I believed him of course and did not start making a plan of how to get him back down if he got too tired. *cough*
From here, the end was in sight and it wasn’t long before we reached the summit. The look on son’s face was absolutely priceless. He was so proud of himself, he told all of the other people at the top that he was a real mountaineer now.
So that’s the first of our 50 things completed. We can’t wait to get on with the other 49!
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Well done to your son. Makes me think of Nelson Mandela’s quote, “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills (challenges!) to climb.”
#countrykids
Thank you, he was so pleased. I expect the next hill will be just around the corner!
Your right, you did choose a big one to tick off the list first – and well done to your little 4 year old for not giving up! What a beautiful place though, with such fantastic views on a lovely clear day. Thanks for linking up and sharing the start of your 50 things to do list with Country Kids.
Thank you, once he got started there was no stopping him!
Wow massive well done to your boy, that’s quite a climb for little legs, you must have been very proud of him. The views are stunning x
Thank you, I was, he did ever so well. The views were even better when the mist lifted! x
That is most definitely a very big hill, well done on achieving such a great 50 Things, and so spectacularly.
Nipping over from Country Kids.
Thank you, definitely the one with the greatest sense of achievement.